The PDDeborah Forkas, director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A review panel Wednesday called on the Cuyahoga County child-welfare department to improve the way it manages high-risk families, but it also put responsibility on the community and the next county government to keep children safer.

The panel appointed by Director Deborah Forkas issued 12 pages of recommendations, which deal in large part with beefing up services to combat threats to children from domestic violence, substance abuse and mental illness.

The presentation to an audience of nonprofit social services providers contained criticisms that the agency has not done enough to address risks to children, such as engaging mental health and addiction experts in cases. But the event was also part pep rally to solicit help from outside the county bureaucracy.

"It's not about the department, it's not about Deborah Forkas," said David Crampton, the panel chairman and an associate professor of social work at Case Western Reserve University. "It's about all of us working together to protect our children."

Since early this year, Forkas and her department have come under question after two children were killed and two others were starved nearly to death despite involvement by the county agency. In addition to these highly publicized cases, at least four other children known to the department were killed since 2009.

Fingers weren't pointed at Forkas at the meeting, but instead at economic conditions that have heightened family problems and risks to children. Forkas herself acknowledged in prepared remarks that problems for parents and families "are much more serious than we assumed -- and that includes myself, other county managers, our staff and contract agencies."

"I believe we all underestimated the toll that the economy has taken on children and families in Cuyahoga County."

Forkas drew a comparison of herself to John Mattingly, the child welfare director in New York City, who dealt with a series of child deaths soon after taking the job. "He even had two New York papers calling for his resignation -- go figure," Forkas said, alluding to The Plain Dealer editorial board calling for her resignation. "But he successfully weathered the storm" after adopting recommendations from a panel similar to the Cuyahoga group, she said.

Forkas noted the tragedies in Cuyahoga began a few weeks after she became director in January 2009. She said she would enact all of the panel's 72 recommendations to improve services and practices. But some, such as enhanced services after children are returned to their parents' custody, will take money the department doesn't have. A number of services have been lost to budget cuts over the past few years.

Participants Wednesday were clearly trying to send a message to candidates for county executive, one of whom will assume the new office in January. Mary Boyle, a former county commissioner and member of the task force, urged the audience to press hopefuls on whether they will increase money for child-welfare services.

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